Today is the day that Open Enrollment begins for Medicare Part D for 2015. The Open enrollment period runs from October 15th through December 7th 2014.

If you, your partner, a friend or loved one has Medicare benefits especially of you are not Dual Eligible (meaning you have both Medicare and Medicaid benefits) then you may want to take advantage of this Open Enrollment period for a couple of reasons:

You may want to review your current plan to make sure it will still cover all your meds in 2015 and there are no significant changes to your current plan….Get a Medicare Part D review and tune up either at Medicare.gov OR ask your HIV Pharmacist, they will be able to assist you in making a plan selection that is BEST for you

You may want to review the Part D plans for 2015 and see if you can get better coverage for all your meds. If you just have Medicare (so you are NOT a Dual eligible) you only have this open enrollment period to switch plans. You can do this at Medicare.gov where you can check out and compare plans OR ask your HIV Pharmacist they will be able to assist you in making a plan selection that is BEST for you

Here are some details about the standard benefits for Part D for 2015:

Initial deductible will be $320 in 2015, and increase from $310 in 2014

Initial coverage limit will be $2960 in2015, an increase from $2850 in 2014

Out of Pocket Threshold (when you have to pay in the donut hole) will increase to $4700 in 2015 from $4550 in 2014

The Donut Hole (Coverage Gap) begins once you reach your Medicare Part D plan’s initial coverage limit ($2,960 in 2015) and ends when you spend a total of $4,700 in 2015.In 2015, Part D enrollees will receive a 55% discount on the total cost of their brand-name drugs purchased while in the donut hole. The 50% discount paid by the brand-name drug manufacturer will still apply to getting out of the donut hole, however the additional 5% paid by your Medicare Part D plan will not count toward your TrOOP. Enrollees will pay a maximum of 65% co-pay on generic drugs purchased while in the coverage gap

Minimum Cost-sharing in the Catastrophic Coverage Portion of the Benefit will increase to greater of 5% or $2.65 for generic or preferred drug that is a multi-source drug and the greater of 5% or $6.60 for all other drugs in 2015

Maximum Co-payments below the Out-of-Pocket Threshold for certain Low Income Full Subsidy Eligible Enrollees will increase to $2.65 for generic or preferred drug that is a multi-source drug and $6.60 for all other drugs in 2015

Remember you don’t have to go it alone. If you have questions about your Medicare Part D plan, need a review or want to see what plans are best for your needs for 2015, ASK your HIV Pharmacist or case manager at your ASO

Please comment on this post in the comment section OR send an email to info@HIVThrive.com if you have questions